Golden Hour

18

Sitting in this law office was nerve wracking and having to relive every detail as I shared with lawyers the truth behind the pictures hurt more than I cared to admit. Having Harry with me to hold my hand and silently cheer me on made all the difference though. It was funny how the thought of having to share this with him used to give me a panic attack, afraid he was going to feel differently about me but if anything his feelings grew stronger for me. He didn't see some broken girl who was used and abused, he saw a strong girl who continued to succeed despite everything happening to her. It gave me confidence to see myself like that too.

"Ms. Claybourne, if you decided to take legal action against Jared then I can almost guarantee that he would be in prison, life sentence."

Harry squeezed my hand as we both felt relief wash over us.

"We could even get the songs back."

"I don't care about the songs. I want to burn them," I said, the last thing on my mind was the fucking songs.

"Okay. You said he was going to be in LA."

"That's what he told me." Although the amount of relief that washed over me was welcome I was beyond scared still of Jared. If he knew I was meeting with my lawyers he would surely find me and kill me today. Just thinking about him being in LA sent me into a panic. "How long do I have to think about this?"

"What do you mean think about it?" Harry asked from beside me. His eyes were wide as if I just told him I killed his kitten. I knew Harry was living in the same fear as me, this become much more personal when he was getting the call that someone broke into his house.

"I'll give you two a moment." The lawyer cleared his throat and walked out of the room.

"Cash this can all be over."

"It's not that simple Harry," I snapped standing up and walking to the mirror. "If he knew what I was doing right now He would kill me. You may not understand how dangerous this is but he will do whatever he wants." I knew taking this out on Harry wasn't smart but maybe if I pushed him away he'd be safe. Which is probably the dumbest thing I've thought during this whole shit show, I needed Harry.

"I know exactly how dangerous this is," he said annoyed. "He broke into my house too, remember."

"Because of me!" I shouted. I really hope they had thick walls in this place. "He did that because of me. Harry you the most important person to me and He will hurt you. He already has by breaking into your house! I won't lose you," I said with tears falling down my face.

"This is why we need to do this. You don't need to do this on your own. I am right here, Cash." His voice was softer and more distressed, this was affecting him more than he left me see. He wanted to be the one to comfort me and hold me and I selfishly let him but he was hurting too.

I knew he was right. I knew I needed to do this. But the thought of people knowing the details of this frightened me. I could see the headlines now doubting and questioning me, wondering why I didn't go to police when it was happening.

"I can't have the whole world knowing this, Harry."

I heard him sigh and then felt his arms wrap around me. "It would be a private hearing. Only the jury would know and they'd have to sign an NDA. No one would know and you could finally be free from him. You've been living in this fear for 5 years."

I closed my eyes and sighed leaning into him. "I'm so scared." I didn't try to hide the crack in my voice. I didn't try to be strong when I wasn't. Harry would be able to see through it anyway.

"I know, sunflower, I know." He pressed his lips to my templed and sighed. "You don't need to make a decision today but please think about it. I'm here when you want to talk it through."